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Salon owners, before we continue let’s have a chat. You’re probably not going to like what you’re about to read. As a salon owner myself, I get that. Please understand that exploitative salon owners hurt our businesses by creating an atmosphere of unfair competition. Those of us who compensate and classify our employees legally incur far more costs than those who steal from their professionals and evade taxes.

If you aren’t intentionally exploiting your professionals, this post isn’t about you so you have nothing to be offended by. If you are, please DO take offense. You deserve it.

Professionals, I need answers from you. Why don’t I see you on Instagram, posting pictures of the $60 paycheck you brought home in exchange for 80 hours of your time? Where is your Facebook post about how your so-called “employer” doesn’t deduct or remit taxes but does deduct 20% from your paycheck for “product fees?” Where are your Snapchat stories, explaining and displaying the insane contract you were asked to sign? Where are the videos of you confronting the salon landlord who unlawfully changed the locks to your suite and refuses to return your tools and equipment to you? Where are the screenshots of the abusive text messages from the employer who fired you for asking for reasonable accommodation?

When will we demand that those who steal your wages, misclassify you to evade taxes, and deny you your rights be held accountable?

Wage theft is the largest form of larceny in our economy, accounting for more than the $13.6 billion we lose each year due to other forms of theft (like burglary and vehicle theft).

Nationally it is estimated that workers are not paid at least $19 billion every year in overtime and that $40-60 billion is not paid due to all forms of wage theft.

You can (and should) report wage theft and misclassification to the Department of Labor, the IRS, and/or state agencies, but do so with the knowledge that you’ll likely be waiting a long time for your case to be resolved, and that in an estimated 83% of the cases, even businesses that lose the dispute never paid back any wages. Sometimes, you have to seek your own justice, but do so the right way, lest you find yourself in the defendant’s chair learning a harsh lesson about defamation.

1.) Know your rights. Don’t embarrass yourself by making demands before you understand what you’re legally entitled to (and what you aren’t).

2.) Keep detailed records and evidence to support your claim. Before you make a statement, you need to be able to verify it. Keep your own records. Log your hours, sales, and tips. Keep those records somewhere safe—either on your phone or at home.

3.) Have an adult conversation first. Many owners in our industry have no idea that they’re breaking laws. Don’t assume intent. Follow the steps in this article and speak with someone before you put them on blast. Assume ignorance and give the owner the benefit of the doubt until it becomes clear they don’t deserve it.

I absolutely do not recommend outing a salon owner until you’ve given them an opportunity to explain themselves to you first.

If you don’t have the spine to have that conversation with the salon owner, leave this article immediately and forget about launching that smear campaign–you aren’t mature enough to be holding anyone accountable for anything.

4.) Be aware of the consequences. Before you move forward, ask yourself if you’re ready to be fired—because you very likely will be (so have a plan to file a retaliation complaint).

You should also keep in mind that you will be exposing a bad employer in a very public way and that other employers in your area will most definitely hear about it. However, if you’re truly not willing to tolerate exploitation and unlawful employment arrangements, the fact that your actions will cause other bad salon owners to blacklist you shouldn’t be a problem. (You may actually catch the attention of ethical salon owners in your area who would love to have you.)

Expect to be served with a cease and desist letter.

Cease and desist letters are not court orders. Understand that a cease and desist letter is nothing more than a scary looking notice sent by the other party’s attorney, designed to intimidate you into doing what the other party wants. Essentially, they say, “Stop doing what you’re doing, or else…”

The letter should have legal merit, but it may not. Consider it a cautionary notice—a threat that may not be fulfilled—especially if the person who sent it doesn’t have the tiniest bit of actual legal leverage. The language within the letter may sound official. You will likely be accused of committing some crime (through carefully-worded insinuations), but an accusation isn’t a conviction. The other party will have to prove that you committed a crime in court, which will be difficult at best if you haven’t actually done so.

A “whistleblower” is an employee who reports a violation of the law by his or her employer.

Read up on the defamation laws in your state. Generally, for a defamation claim to stand, the accused must have malicious intent and/or the accusations made against the other party must be false. As a general rule, if you are telling the truth, you are not committing defamation. Additionally, defending your civil rights (which include your employment rights) and questioning or speaking out against unlawful employment practices is often considered protected speech under the NLRA and a variety of other whistleblower protections.

5.) Never lie, strategically omit information, or exaggerate your claim. When you’re calling attention to someone’s unlawful or shameful behavior, your credibility is everything. All of your arguments become invalid the second you’re caught lying or stretching the facts. Stick to the truth.

THE BURDEN OF PROOF RESTS ON THE SHOULDERS OF THE ACCUSER.

If the other party accuses you of defamation, they will have to prove you are lying. Similarly, you must be capable of proving they actually committed a crime against you. Save those receipts and never say anything you can’t prove with actual evidence. For example:

Defamation: “My boss stole $10,000 from my paycheck this year and violated prevailing wage laws, but I don’t have proof.”

Not Defamation: “My boss stole $10,000 from my paycheck this year. Here is the offer letter showing my compensation agreement. Here are the paystubs showing the deductions and prove that my pay routinely fell below the prevailing minimum wage. These are the statutes that were violated. Here are screenshots of her text messages admitting she took the money and will never give it back.”

6.) Keep calm, keep it short, and stick to the facts. If you choose to proceed, let me do you the favor of telling you that nobody wants to hear your whole life story. Nobody cares about how you met the owner, what you think of how she dresses or manages the business, how the vein in her forehead throbs when she’s mad, how you became a professional, or any of the other minute and completely irrelevant details you believe add flavor and context to your story. None of that matters. You aren’t trying to persuade anyone to pity you or like you.

No matter how angry or distraught you are, Leave your emotions out of it.

My name is June Whistleblower. I worked as a stylist for three years at Fictional Salon in Faketown, Florida. The owner of Fictional Salon, Suzie McFakeface:

unlawfully deducted and withheld $13,225 of my wages for “product costs” (in violation of state law 38.3948),

misclassified myself and my coworkers as independent contractors when we are very clearly employees (in violation of both state and federal employment classification laws),

paid myself and my coworkers “commission-only,” and did not guarantee prevailing wage or overtime compliance (in violation of state and federal wage laws).

I sent Ms. McFakeface an email about the violations with links to the statutes on Wednesday, June 25th. After speaking with Ms. McFakeface privately on Friday, June 27th, she refused to pay and fired me. She has since sent several threatening text messages, after I repeatedly told her to stop contacting me.

I demand that Ms. McFakeface immediately repay the wages she stole from me and that she cease stealing the wages of her current employees. Customers and beauty professionals in the Faketown area need to be aware that Suzie McFakeface at Fictional Salon has been (and apparently plans to continue) to steal from and exploit her employees.”

Wage theft has frequently been referred to as “the crime wave that almost nobody talks about.”

Let me put this bluntly: YOU ARE BEING STOLEN FROM. Your rights are being violated. These practices are an actual epidemic in this industry and will continue to create toxicity that poisons the entire profession. Stop allowing yourself to believe that you don’t matter and that you don’t have the power to make change. YOU ABSOLUTELY DO. You have every legal right to demand that your employers comply with the laws that protect and defend your wages and freedoms. Where is your outrage? What are you afraid of?

I receive thousands of emails, comments, and messages from beauty workers every year.

I read and reply to every one of them. For nearly a decade, I’ve been pushing professionals to take action, but very few are willing. What most professionals are doing right now (tolerating it quietly, complaining to their friends, and never filing/following up on complaints) isn’t working.

Frankly, I’m tired of the excuses. People seem to have all the time in the world to complain about the abuses they suffer, so don’t tell me you don’t have time to complain to the one person who needs to hear it or to bring the issue to the attention of the public and demand someone answer for what they’ve done to you.

“But I need a job…”

You sure do, but I would argue that nobody needs a job where their wages are being stolen and their rights are being violated. Recognize that by accepting these practices you are endorsing them. You are allowing them to continue and are therefore complicit in your own exploitation and the continuance of crimes that harm everyone in this business. If you truly want the industry to become a better workplace for everyone, accept the fact that you are not above working in other industries while you’re looking for a legal employment arrangement. I love this business more than most and the thought of working in a different industry doesn’t appeal to me either, but I have more pride and respect for myself than to tolerate a salon owner who believes they’re entitled to steal from me for their own gain.

Quit allowing yourself to be used.

These practices have fractured our industry, contributing to the delegitimization that makes it all too easy for legislators to dismiss us and deregulate our professions. So, I’ll ask you again—WHERE IS YOUR OUTRAGE?

Professionals, if you want to see change happen in the industry, make criminal salon owners scared of you. Terrify them with your education and your fearlessness. Refuse their job offers, challenge their illegal practices, hold them accountable by filing reports, and let them see what happens to exploitative business owners who steal from and abuse beauty professionals by sharing their shameful actions with the public.

Bring these practices out of the shadows and force these owners to explain themselves to their family, friends, and customers.

We have tried playing nice. Change won’t happen on its own. We have to make people uncomfortable. We have to apply pressure. We have to talk to the media, talk to the public, and stop being complicit ourselves. Ask questions. Demand answers. Blow the whistle. Stop giving those who victimize you a free pass to walk away without consequence.

Have you ever filed a complaint against an exploitative salon owner or held them accountable some other way? Did you speak to the media (or social media)? What happened? Tell us about it in the comments!

Beauty industry survivalist, salon crisis interventionist, tactical verb-weapon specialist, and the leader of at least a hundred workplace revolutions, Tina Alberino is known as much for her extensive knowledge as for her sarcastic wit and mercilessly straightforward style. She’s the author of the book The Beauty Industry Survival Guide and the blog This Ugly Beauty Business. When she’s not writing, educating, or consulting, she can be found overthinking everything, identifying problems people didn’t know existed, and stubbornly working to change the things she cannot accept.

8 COMMENTS

Bravo! When I started in the industry I worked for what came to be one of the shiftiest people I have ever encountered. I managed to get out (and continue to struggle, but I got out) before it got worse but former associates/friends of mine were left stranded when things finally caught up via the IRS and liens and the doors were shuttered with no notice. I’m appalled at how some places run (I also worked in a resort spa…) and while it’s a roller coaster, I am now finishing my first year as a business owner with my own skin studio. I do not regret it for a minute.

Hi Tina! I work at a salon where I am a renter. Everyone at our facility is a renter except for the receptionist. The salon owner decided that it would be easier to sell Salon gift certificate that would be able to be used for any service and charge our clients one time. We are supposed to be paid when a service is completed and gift cards are turned in. Initially it sounded like it could be a good idea. As time has passed, the salon owner is competing for gift certificate sales with all of the stylist therapists and manicurists. She is offering discounts to entice clients to buy the salon gift card rather than from there stylist or therapist directly. When I approached her about it she denied any personal benefit (she isnt a stylist or therapist, just a landlord). Shortly after i approached her, she began retailing and consulting. She also stopped “expiring” the gift cards in 1 year and follows the Michigan law of 5 years before expiration. We are pretty sure that she spends this money on personal things and when a gift card is turned in she uses rent money to pay the stylist or therapists or sells more gift cards to pay us. Is this legal?!?!? I’m concerned that if she keeps doing this, and needs to keep selling more gift certificates to pay the stylist and therapist for the ones previously sold it will eventually catch up to her and she’ll be out of business, which hurts all of the tenants. I have seen some late payment notices for utilities and such so I am concerned. Do you know of any laws or Michigan laws that would prevent this? I had hoped gift certificate money was escrowed, but it isn’t. Thank you for your fabulous articles, insight and help!!!!

How she manages the gift certificate revenue on her end really isn’t relevant to anything so long as the renters are being paid upon redemption. It’s legal for her to run her business finances however she chooses (you’re right–business owners aren’t required to hold gift certificate revenue in a trust account or anything; they’re just responsible for ensuring that they have the resources to ensure redemption). Likewise, her poor financial management isn’t necessarily your concern UNLESS you want to approach her about it as a friend and a tenant who hopes to continue to have a place to conduct business. As far as I know, there are no laws against what she’s doing, but if you’re starting to see late payment notices–and you’re close enough to her personally to approach her about it–I’d recommend doing so ASAP, in private. Just prepare yourself. Some people are very sensitive about money issues and don’t respond well, even when those involved are coming from a position of genuine concern.

I reported my former boss to Revenue Canada last year. When I was hired in 2013 as an instructor at a hair school, I had no idea that I was most certainly not an independant contractor as she had me classified. Revenue Canada did an investigation and ruled in my favour; problem was they only made her pay my EI and CPP for the last year I worked there — I was “laid off” in April of 2017, so she only had to pay back 4 months of my unemploment and pension. When I asked the guy at Revenue Canada what about all other years she stole for me, he didn’t have an answer except that they could only get her for that fiscal year. Not long after, my friend (who was also my former co-worker at the same school) was contacted by Rev Can asking the same questions they asked me during my complaint investigation. Same thing with her; they ruled in her favour and our former boss had to pay back her EI and CPP for 2017 (she quit July 2017). This screwed both of us financially and now that we know better, we’d like to know if there’s a way to get her to pay the rest of the source deductions she did not pay us for the whole time we worked there (over 4 years for me, a year for my friend). Is there any way the government will go after her for the rest? Or should we talk to a lawyer?

I would recommend going to an employee rights attorney, as they’re your best resource and are more likely to either a.) get things moving in a timely fashion, or b.) give you a strategy for working with enforcement agencies more effectively.